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A TREATIS E>

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF

FRESH-WATER FISH,

WITH A VIEW TO MAKING THEM A

SOURCE OF PROFIT TO LANDED PROPRIETORS:
BY

GOTTLIEB BOCCIUS.

JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW.

er

FRESH-WATER FISH.

LONDON :
I.UXFOBD & CO , PBINTEKS, RATCUFF HIGHWAY.

TREATISE

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF

FRESH-WATER FISH,

WITH A VIEW TO MAKING THEM A SOURCE OF

PROFIT TO LANDED PROPRIETORS:

BY

GOTTLIEB BOCCIUS.

Spiegel or Mirror Carp

LONDON :

JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M.DCCC.XLI.

TO

SIR ROBERT SHAFTO ADAIR, BART.,

OF FLIXTEN HALL,
HARLESTEN, NORFOLK.

SIR,

The great interest you have taken in
the subject of fish ponds, induces me, with humble
apology, to dedicate this short treatise to you.

I hope it will induce those readers who have the
opportunity, to give the subject a fair trial ; the result,
I am sure, will be a source of gratification to their
piscatorial friends, and of profit to themselves, in the
production of a better quality and greater quantity
of fresh-water fish.

The kind attention I have received at your hands,
and your friendly introduction to Mr. Yarrell, author

M844830

VI DEDICATION.

of "The History of British Fishes," renders me
grateful for the trouble you have devoted to this sub-
ject. To that gentleman I am indebted for assistance
in obtaining the wood-cut of the Spiegel or Mirror
Carp, which, although far superior in quality to those
we have, does not at present exist in England. I
trust, however, that before this winter sets in, I shall
be enabled to stock your ponds with the brood of this
species.

Again returning you many thanks for your cour-
teous and favorable attention,

I remain,

SIR,
Your very humble servant,

G. BOCCIUS.

A TREATISE, &c.

FRESH-WATER Fish are equally nutritious with those of the
sea ; they are much lighter as food, and therefore easier of
digestion ; and were it not owing to the neglected state
of ponds, which, on the old system, cause the fish to be
muddy, earthy or weedy, there is no doubt that fresh-wa-
ter fish would be in greater repute and request. I do not
doubt that were the system which it is the object of this
little treatise to describe, generally adopted, a very great

%

demand for fresh- water fish would ensue ; for it is a busi-
ness-like adage that if you provide for a market by a regular
supply, a market is created and increased demand follows.
I shall begin by making a few remarks on the situation and
number of

THE PONDS OR STEWS. — These ought to be three in num-
ber, and it is requisite to make choice of a slight elevation
for the first pond. If possible this should be so situated
that it may receive the drainings of a village, or at any
rate proximity to a farm is desirable, as all the refuse wash-
ings from such places supply food to a large extent.

The object in having the first pond higher than the
others, is that a supply of water may pass from it to the
lower ones in succession : the ponds being connected by a
water-course and protected by flood-gates, must have a
sufficient depth and descent to allow the whole of the
water to pass off readily to the next in succession.

The ponds ought not to be nearer to each other than one
hundred yards ; the greater the distance between them the
better, as each can then have the benefit of the refuse
washings of the neighbourhood and adjoining fields, which
will of course contribute largely to the support of the stock.
Moreover, by having a long water-course between the
ponds, when either of them is sluiced off, or as the term is
" fished," that part of the store, which invariably escapes
with the fall of water, can be recovered in a much clean-
er and consequently more healthy state than those which
are left behind in the slam or mud.

Clay soils are not genial to fish ; therefore light loamy
or gravelly bottoms ought to be chosen for the ponds ; if
however, the clay is not too deep, and by excavating it
yellow sand can be reached, then it will leave an equally
soft and pure bottom, the sides being of less importance.

In clay bottoms the fish do not thrive, from want of food,
in consequence of the water partaking of the racy* quality

*Racy is the term for a species of iron-stone sand found in clay strata.

of the earth, which from its cold and sterile nature does not
afford the nutriment requisite for the maintenance of the
larvae of insects, worms, and other minute living crea-
tures, in sufficient number, and so keeps the stock lean
and unfit for food.

In forming ponds particular care ought to be taken to
make the sides shelve gradually for about six yards ; and
they are on no account to be deep at the sides, firstly, on
account of the sward nourishing large quantities of insects,
&c., the legitimate food of the fish; secondly, the ponds
are not so easily poached, the shallows being protected by
stakes ; and thirdly, protection is afforded to the brood.

The only deep that ought to exist at either side should
be near the sluice or flood-gate, where it should be
twelve or eighteen inches deeper than the rest of the pond,
in order that when the water is drawn off, the fish may be
collected into a close space, and when the sluice is again
closed, that an accumulation of water may immediately
take place, sufficient for the protection of the brood or
succeeding store.

In the rainy season it is always advisable to let the
ponds fill to the full extent of their prescribed boundaries,
as this not only brings a large proportion of food from the
adjacent grounds, but when the water is again let off or re-
cedes, the borders produce luxuriant and tender herbage,
peculiarly adapted for the food of carp, and upon which

that fish feeds greedily in rainy weather, and may frequent-
ly be observed floundering half out of his watery element
in order to obtain this favourite morsel.

As all foliage is pernicious, and the decomposition
highly injurious to fish, especially to the fry or brood, it
must be fully borne in mind that trees or shrubs should
never be planted on the borders or margins of the ponds ;
but if ornament be required, then only at a sufficient dis-
tance, for it is equally necessary to have a free action of
air passing over the surface, as it is to have pure and whole-
some water, in fact the removal of trees contributes largely
to effect both.

Fish grown by these directions will not only prove fat,
but of a far superior flavour to those taken from common
and ill-regulated ponds or stews.

If the first pond should get an over accumulated store of
water, it must be let off by the sluice into the second, and
so on to the third, and then be suffered to run to waste, for
no pond ought to be allowed on any account to overflow
or break its boundaries, as by so doing and by conveying
the fish to the next pond, it injures that stew by introdu-
cing fish of different growths, and so proves ultimately a
serious loss; food would be then insufficient for their joint
maintenance, consequently the fish would gain but little
in size and weight.

If the ponds have an even and well-regulated supply of

water, then their depth at the centre need never be more
than from three to five feet, shelving to the sides as before
stated; but if only an indifferent supply can be obtained,
then they must be twelve or eighteen inches deeper.

It is not, however, desirable to have the ponds so situated
that a large quantity of fresh water shall suddenly be able
to find its way into them, as it both thickens the whole by
moving the mud, and being colder and of other properties,
it sickens the store for some time and checks their thriv-
ing. A well-regulated supply and co-equal discharge is to
be recommended and must be attended to.

Having thus far described the base and positions which
the ponds ought to have, I shall proceed to lay down the
requisite rules, by attention to which a lucrative rental can
be obtained, where an estate is adapted for succession
ponds. The first pond should be the smallest of the three,
the second next in size, and the third the largest, for the
following reasons. At the period of fishing, as before stated,
a great portion of the brood escapes with the flood, which
cannot be prevented ; and as another year must elapse be-
fore the water or pond in succession can be fished, too much
of the food of the original store would be consumed were
not the second pond larger, and so capable of receiving the
addition ; it would moreover prove extremely detrimental,
as I shall afterwards show.

In order to come to the dimensions of the ponds I shall

propose the following scale : — No. 1, three acres; No. 2,
four acres; No. 3, five acres: making altogether twelve
acres of water, which, after the first three years of their
stores, will produce an annual income from each pond in
rotation.

To stock the ponds with brood the following simple cal-
culation is sufficient for direction ; viz., to every acre of
water in extent, put in 200 brood carp, 20 brood tench,
and 20 brood jack ; thus making 10 per cent, each of tench
and jack to the carp ; the brood must be all of one season's
spawn. Therefore to three acres there will be 600 carp, 60
tench and 60 jack, and the succession ponds are to be
stocked in like proportions, the second the year following
the first, and the third again a year later, so that each pond
then comes round in its turn to be fished.

This first outlay constitutes the whole expense, save and
except the guarding against poaching, as there will always
be a superabundant quantity of brood or store to restore
the stews, and sufficient left for sale.

It is a well-authenticated fact that no fish of prey will
ever touch tench ; so it is also understood that tench act
medicinally to other fish, by rubbing against them when
wounded or sick. This quality is probably attributable to
the glutinous, slimy quality and properties of its skin, for
when fish have been wounded by the fangs of another, or
struck by a hook, they have been frequently observed and

taken when in close company with tench, and this gives rise
to the presumption for so believing, and is the reason for re-
commending the introduction of a few tench into the stews.
In Germany the fishermen call it the doctor-fish. Some
people consider the tench to be of the carp tribe ; I do not,
as the organs of generation, fins, and other parts of the fish
differ materially, and the male shows so marked a difference
from the female, that as they swim about they can be selected,
but this is not the case with carp ; however, tench are parti-
cularly delicate, nutritious, and in good repute for the table.

Jack or pike is well known to be the most rapacious
fresh-water fish that exists, but with all its voracity it is
absolutely necessary to have a sufficient quantity in the
carp-stews or ponds, to check increase.

In establishing the stews as before mentioned, the stock
is calculated by a friend in Saxony, after forty years ex-
perience of real practical results. This same friend pos-
sesses one of the finest estates in that delightful and luxu-
riant country, comprising nearly eight thousand acres, of
which nearly one half is forest ; and on his estate he has
twenty-two ponds, the largest being about twenty-seven
acres in extent : but as I shall have occasion to revert to
this subject later, I shall proceed.

There are few fish probably that breed so quickly or pro-
duce larger broods than carp, of which there are two spe-
cies to be recommended for store, the one known as the

3

English or round-bodied carp, the other, little known in
this country but equally well framed, is called in Germany
the Spiegel (Mirror) Carp, from the beautiful blue-mottled
scales along the sides, which are much larger than those
of the rest of the body ; this sort could be easily obtained
from Hamburg or any part of Germany, and would well
repay the trouble of importation. They are particular-
ly handsome, and bear a similarity to the red-legged
compared to the common grey partridge, with the excep-
tion that the Spiegel carp is the better flavoured, and in-
variably fatter than the other. Carp therefore being so
productive, require a proportionate check by a given quan-
tity of jack in the stews, otherwise the water would soon
become so swarming with brood, that food would be
wanting to support the stock, and the result would be
a failure in the quality of the fish-draught.

It has been fully proved that a given space of earth can
produce only a certain quantity ; so only can a given space
or quantity of water produce a certain quantity, either of
vegetable matter or animalcules : and curious as it may ap-
pear, yet it is as true as curious, that by storing only the
proper number of fish adapted to the water, the weight in
three years will prove equal to what it would have been had
twice the number been placed therein, so that the smaller
number produces the same weight as the larger, from a
given quantity of water. By overstocking the water the

9

fish become sickly, lean and bony ; and on the contrary,
when the regulations are attended to which I have laid
down, the fish will be healthy, fleshy and fat.

By this it will be seen that jack become a useful appen-
dage in well-regulated ponds, tantamount to an absolute
necessity, but with the necessity a property, as it will be
found that jack, carp and tench thrive and grow in equal
proportion after this system.

In stocking ponds it must be strictly observed that the
jack, carp and tench be all of the same season or spring
spawn ; and the period for brooding the pond is towards
the end of October, or if the season be open and mild,
early in November, for the following reasons. Carp and
tench being fish of the same habits, they slam or mud at
the same period, lying torpid through the winter months,
so that they keep secure from the attacks of the juvenile
jack; the jack at that age finds sufficient food in worms
&c. to subsist upon : as the spring advances, when the
carp and tench leave their winter lairs, the jack then
in turn become sickly as their spawning season approach-
es, and consequently do not annoy the carp, much less the
tench; this brings them through April, when the jack
spawn, and they remain quiet from that time until the wet
season of July.

In June both the carp and tench spawn, and although
in very small casts for the first season, yet they are far

10

larger than would be beneficial for the stews were no jack in
them ; and from this period the jack becomes useful, for as
he gets more and more vigorous, so does he keep down the
brood and thrive himself: thus by making an easy prey, it
seldom if ever occurs that a jack chases a carp of his own
age, the result is that through the clearance of the brood
the stock finds sufficient food to live and thrive upon.

Until now I have not adverted to other fish, but on no
account whatever should other fish be admitted into the
stews or ponds ; eels particularly ought to be kept out, as
they do great mischief.

Returning to the subject of the succession ponds being
fished every three years, it is to be borne in mind that the
store at that age is fit for market, and the calculation for
three years out of three acres, would give on an average as
follows : —

600 Carp, at 3£ Ibs. each, 2100 Ibs.

60 Tench, ....at 4£ Ibs. each, 240 Ibs.

60 Jack, at 34 Ibs. each, 210 Ibs.

Total weight of store, 2550 Ibs.

Supposing the fish to be worth Is. per lb., the value would
be £127. 10s. for three years, or £42. 10s. per annum ; but
were only half the price obtained, then as the first expense
is the only one, it must be termed a profitable rental, espe-

11

cially as under the old system many gentlemen have large
pieces of water which produce nothing.

I forgot to mention when on the subject of ponds, that
when the water is let off for the purpose of fishing, it is not
advisable to clear it of the mud ; merely remove the rushes
and reeds, which are detrimental, then leave it to dry for
some time before the water is again allowed to accumulate,
except near the sluice, where sufficient must be admitted
for the existence of the new brood. The mud, when dried,
produces new herbage, which ultimately proves nourish-
ment for the store.

When a pond has been fished, it is always advisable to
replace three or four pairs of the finest carp, for as they get
older they cast the finer and greater quantity of spawn.
Moreover, I should recommend gentlemen who may form
ponds on these principles, to keep a fish-stock-book, as in
the course of time the comparisons would prove interest-
ing, and show that this system is not theoretical.

Carp attain a great age, and if properly fed and attended
to increase to a great weight. As I before stated, on my
friend's estate at Machern in Saxony there are twenty-two
ponds, the largest is in extent twenty-seven acres, out of
this pond, in October, 1822, I saw the two largest breeding
carp placed in the scale, and their united weight amounted
to nearly 1 00 Ibs. ; the male weighed 43 Ibs. Saxon, the fe-
male 48 Ibs. Saxon weight is above 7 per cent, heavier

c

12

than English. In ] 833 these carp had increased in size, the
male to 52 Ibs. Saxon, the female to 55 Ibs.: such my friend
stated to be the weight when I last saw him in 1835. It is
a rule to weigh the breeders at every draught. In the same
year I was present at the draught of my friend's second
largest pond, which is seventeen acres ; the produce ex-
ceeded 4000 Ibs. weight of carp, besides tench and jack.
In this pond he had left, for four previous draughts, seve-
ral carp for breeding, five of which in the scale drew 103
Ibs. Saxon, the largest of the five, a Spiegel carp, drew alone
31^ Ibs. English, the age of these was sixteen years, but
that of the two in the largest pond could not be correctly
stated, as they were on the estate when he purchased it
some fifty years since : these fish they treat as prize fish,
and consider them infinitely better for spawn than younger
ones. As carp get older they do not increase in bodily
weight in proportion, for the roe and milt increasing with
each year, take too much out of them ; this will account for
the difference of the rapid increase of the young carp com-
pared with those more advanced in years ; and it does ap-
pear to me that the most luxuriant growth of the carp takes
place only up to its twentieth year ; after which, from the
cause before named, it becomes slower.

Brood carp well fed, or more properly not overstocked
in the ponds, and taken in the autumn of the third year
following, will generally weigh from 3 Ibs. to 4 Ibs. ; in six

13

years from 8 Ibs. to 10 Ibs.; and after that increasing at the
rate of 1^ to !-£ Ib. each year, until they arrive at nearly 30
Ibs., when it may be concluded that the fish is about twen-
ty years old : some grow faster than others, especially the
Spiegel carp. When fish get to nearly the last-men-
tioned weight, it seems as if nature then intended them for
breeding only, and not for food, as they are hideously
coarse, whereas a 10-lb. well-fed carp is a great delicacy.
I should recommend those who may think the weights
given above to be fabulous, to pay a visit to Mr. Pitman,
Fishmonger, Leadenhall Market, who has a stuffed carp
that came from Antwerp or the neighbourhood, and which
I consider had attained the age of eighteen or twenty years.
It was dead when he bought it, and weighed 28^ Ibs. ; it
was moreover out of condition, for according to its length,
3 feet 4 inches, it ought to have drawn at least 5 Ibs. more.
Mr. Pitman is extremely well versed in piscatory science,
and is not only a connoisseur, but invariably collects the
lusus naturae of his market, to enlighten himself and the
cognoscenti : moreover, what experience he possesses, and
that is not a little, he with pleasure imparts to others in a
very unassuming and bland manner, and a more affable,
kind-hearted person is not often met with.

The carp is a particularly shy and cautious fish, wary
and mistrustful in the extreme when obliged to hunt for
food, but when in stews with plenty of food, he becomes

c 2

14

bold and easy of acquaintance, especially when petted with
food agreeable to his taste and of a different quality to that
which he finds in his store ; in fact by repetition he be-
comes so tame, that instances have been known of carp
taking food from the hands of their keeper.

At Charlottenburg, the summer palace of the King of
Prussia, in the ornamental waters of the domain are a large
number of carp, which are so extremely tame that they
come to the surface to be fed at the sound of a bell. The
keeper has his favourites, and it is said that there are some
among them more than a century old. Where carp are
well fed, they may be seen basking in the sun on the sur-
face of the water during the hot months of August and Sep-
tember, and sometimes rolling about like so many por-
poises ; they will scarcely retreat at the approach of any
one, and become so extremely fat in stews, that a 10-lb.
fish will frequently have fat an eighth of an inch thick on
his sides, especially those of the Spiegel carp breed.

Carp and tench are easily conveyed from place to place
during the months of October and November, or fishing-
season, by means of casks, in which there must be, in lieu
of bung-hole, a hole sufficiently large to admit the fish
without bruising, and that must be left open for air; it is
very rare that any die when conveyed in this manner, al-
though it may be for a considerable distance, especially if
there be not too many placed in the same cask.

15

Jack on the contrary is a very tender fish, and extremely
susceptible of being handled, turns up quickly, and if not
speedily removed to open water or home stews, pines, sick-
ens and dies. Home stews are small ponds which the pur-
veyor keeps ; they are generally about eight or ten yards
square, and serve as a convenience for supplying the mar-
ket, or if on a gentleman's own estate, for the supply of his
table, so as not to over-stock or glut the market during the
fishing season, as all ponds are fished in the autumn ;
carp and tench at that period require little or no food, so
does it not so materially matter about a larger number be-
ing cramped into a small space ; it is, however, advisable
by way of precaution, to allow a current of water to flow
through it, for fear of some turning up.

The system pursued by the purveyor when he wants a
supply, is to drop a net (termed a wonder) of large dimen-
sions into the centre of his stew, and after a while he raises
it again, when he takes out the fish suited to the order or
required for his market; some few he keeps in wooden
tanks full of holes, like those used in the Thames for floun-
ders &c., by which he saves himself much trouble and loss
of time, but it must be remembered that no fish ought to
be kept longer than a week in such tanks, as by the close
confinement they become dull and lose their flesh. Jack
cannot be kept for any length of time in home stews, if
ever so much care be taken of them, and even with a full

16

flow of fresh water passing through the stew ; carp and
tench, on the other hand will keep all the winter without
receiving any injury.

In fishing the ponds, as it is termed, the sluice or flood-
gate should on no account be raised too suddenly, but by
degrees, so that the water may gradually pass away ; it is
much better to take several days, say a week, for the pur-
pose, than to allow a rapid discharge, as that would en-
danger the next succession pond, and place you in great
difficulty to recover the store, and would moreover bruise
the stock. By slowly removing the water the whole stock
approaches the sluice-deep, and much trouble is spared in
collecting the fish ; whereas by suddenly discharging the
water, many fish would be left on the mud in various parts
of the pond, and cause them to turn sick. When fishing
you ought to have several large vats (such as turnips are
washed in) filled with clean water, to receive the fish
when taken from the pond. The vats must be divided
into three sets, and as the fish are taken with the hand
nets from the pond, they must be placed in No. 1 to
cleanse them ; then after a few minutes removed to No. 2 ;
and again after a short time to No. 3. By this operation
the fish become clean and fair for the scale, into which
they are placed from the No. 3. When weighing you
ought always to allow liberal weight, giving good tare
and tret ; tare for the fish and tret in consequence of the

17

water and dirt : from the scale they are placed in the tra-
velling casks, as before described, and conveyed to the
home stews. Should the winter prove very severe, when
the surface of the store ponds is completely covered with ice
the best plan is to cut round holes, about three feet in di-
ameter, and to place therein a bundle of withes or straight
bushes, about six feet long, so that the points are upper-
most, and about three feet out of the water ; this will leave
a sufficient space open for air, as the thickness of the bush-
es will not allow the centre to freeze, and thus the fish will
become relieved ; as air is very essential for the stock,
all ponds ought to be ventilated on this plan during frost.
Where only one pond is on an estate, and kept after the
before-named arrangement, it should be fished only every
third year. The fish salesmen of the London markets all
agree that if a regular supply of live fresh-water fish were
kept up, good prices and a large consumption would be the
result ; as it is, what little is introduced to the markets is
readily purchased by the Jews, and during the season of
Lent by the Roman Catholics. At any rate, the whole sys-
tem of stocked fish-ponds arranged as I have described in
this pamphlet, must be productive of profit, tending also to
increase the quantity of sustenance or food at a cheap rate
for our fellow- creatures, moreover producing a gain from
that which now constitutes a waste.

To make choice of your store fish for stock, you ought

18

to have nets placed at certain distances in the connecting
channel or ditch between the ponds, so that you can take
and select the finest, which are the healthiest, for the stock,
and by so doing prevent the principal of the brood from
escaping to the next pond.

There are two species of weeds which are requisite in
your ponds, and on which carp and tench spawn ; the one
is Potamogeton natans, or broad-leaved pond-weed, some-
times called tench-weed; the other is Ranunculus aquatilis
or water crow-foot. Against the former, during the period
of casting their spawn, they rub themselves, either from an
exciting or soothing cause, but they invariably discharge
the ova on the crow-foot, which is a long wiry weed, form-
ing at intervals circles of fine leaves : from its tough-
ness and close foliage it protects the spawn and young fry
from the attacks of fish of prey. I think it is by means
of this weed that wild fowl convey different species of fish
from one pond to another, in consequence of the gelatinous
nature of the ova causing them to adhere to the feathers
of the fish while feeding, and this will account for fish
being found in waters where none of the sort had been
stored. Wild fowl are particularly fond of spawn ; they
destroy much of it, and seek the weeds encumbered with
it. It is among these weeds that the fry are partially
protected when they emerge from the ova ; for like every
thing produced from creation's lot, in the early stage of life

19

being perfectly neipiess, so do they swini, or, more proper-
ly, float about, for three or four days, with the shell of the
ova attached to them, showing a similarity to the umbili-
cal cord in animals, after which it falls off, and then the
brood instinctively move in a shoal to the scours, for the
protection against other fish afforded by the shallow water,
as well as on account of its being warmer and of lighter
weight to their small frames. It is during the first move-
ment from the egg that fish of prey, especially eels, are so
destructive to the spawn-casts ; and I have seen a male
trout trailing over and around the layer, open-mouthed,
hunting away every other fish that should make its appear-
ance, solely to gratify his voracious appetite. To a casual
observer it would appear as if he protected the fry, but this
is not the case, as he does not even permit the spawner to
approach; and were protection the object, every trout-
stream would be swarming with millions of fry, whereas it
is difficult to keep a trout-stream in a tolerably well-stock-
ed state. I will however give a remedy which will well
repay any gentleman for the little trouble it may give his
keeper. Take a box, such as I have described under the
head of stew-boxes, and fill the bottom with clean good
gravel, not too large ; in the month of November, or month
before spawning, place in the box a spawner and milter
of good size, then sink it in the deep stream where there is
plenty of water, so that it may be well covered during the

20

period of spawning, and when the fish have cast take them
out and turn them adrift into the river ; then move the box
into shallow water, which, being influenced by the early
rays of the sun, will bring forth the fry ; keep them in the
box until they are about half an inch long, then turn them
out on the shallows. By this simple process no store
would be wanting, and the trout-stream would always be
well stocked. I have diverged from my theme of fish-
ponds, but I trust the hint will not be objected to by my
readers.

APPENDIX,

CONTAINING

TWENTY-THREE GERMAN RECIPES

FOR COOKING

FRESH-WATER FISH.

APPENDIX.

I SHALL now, by way of supplement, give a series of Ger-
man recipes for cooking fresh-water fish ; some of which,
when well prepared, although simple, will prove that stor-
ed fresh-water fish are not so degoutant as too many are
led to believe. All fish ought to be cooked as early as
possible after being killed.

Fresh-water fish are more watery than those of the sea ;
and it is requisite to use salt, in order to extract the wa-
tery particles. Every sort of fresh-water fish, as soon as
killed and cleaned, ought to have salt well rubbed inside
and outside, and should be allowed so to remain for some
time before it is cooked, when it should be well washed out
with pure spring water, wiped thoroughly dry with a clean
cloth, and afterwards cooked according to desire.

Fish that swim at or near the surface of water are far
more watery than those which keep at the bottom ; for in-
stance, roach, dace, chub, bream, carp and tench, are much

lighter and more watery than trout, grayling, jack, perch,
and eels ; and the latter do not require to remain so long
in the salt as the former. I conceive the different species
of food, the colder state of the water from the greater
depth, with the exertion requisite to obtain food, produces
a firmer flesh.

In all choice for carp, if the Spiegel carp can be ob-
tained, it is the best.

Carp boiled blue.

Draw the carp, do not scale it, but clean it well, split it
in half, then cut it into pieces large enough for serving up,
lay them on a dish, and pour over each piece, on the scale
side, some scalding vinegar ; have only sufficient water in
your stew-pan or kettle to cover your fish, into which put
two or three onions, with cloves, some whole pepper, with
alspice and a good handful of salt. When the water boils
lay the pieces in, so that the scales are undermost, with the
roe or milt at top ; then pour in the vinegar, and let it boil
for half an hour, taking care to skim it well whilst boiling.
When done place the fish in the dish carefully, with the
scales uppermost and the roe or milt at top ; garnish with
some slices of lemon and parsley, serve up to it white

25

anchovy sauce, or grated horseradish boiled in stock or
bouillon.

Jack, tench, barbel, trout and eels are equally good this
way.

Carp with Oyster Force-meat.

When you have thoroughly scaled and cleaned your carp
rub in some salt two hours previous to your stuffing ; for
which take l£ dozen oysters with some flesh of another
carp, and inince them together, then take some crumb of
bread soaked in milk and squeezed out, five eggs, a suffi-
cient quantity of butter, some chopped lemon-peel, onion
or eschalot and parsley, seasoned with pepper and salt ;
make up this altogether for your stuffing, and add thereto
1^ dozen whole oysters, then stuff your carp and sew it up.
Put at the bottom of your baking dish some slices of ba-
con, seasoned with slices of two onions, some cloves, whole
pepper and alspice, then place your fish in and bake it to
a nice brown. Make a good ragout of the milt and roe,
with a few oysters and some mushrooms ; pour this over
the fish when dished up for table.

Jack and tench are fine this way.

Carp Poulpeton.

Cut off all the flesh of the carp, add one third suet and
mince them fine together; then take some crumb of bread
soaked in milk and pressed out, an onion, some lemon-peel
and parsley chopped fine, seasoned with pepper and salt ;
mix these altogether and form it into filets, which fry light-
ly in butter, then lay them in white coulis or stock gravy.
In the mean time boil the roe and milt, which, when done,
cut into small pieces and fry in butter, then add some
brown coulis well seasoned, place all in a dish and garnish
with the tails of crayfish or hot lobster cut in pieces with
morels or small mushrooms, then finish in a slow oven and
serve it up hot for table.

Jack and tench are good this way.

Carp a la Pole

Clean your carp and wash out the blood with a little
vinegar, split it and cut it into pieces, then wash them in
water. Take two quarts of wine and water, three whole
onions stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, alspice, a
small piece of cinnamon, a head of celery, two parsley-roots,
two bay leaves, some salt and a lemon cut into slices, put

27

them together in your stew-pan on the fire. Then blue
your carp with vinegar, and when the stew boils place the
head-pieces at bottom, the middle pieces next, and the tail
at top, with the roe or milt; place the fish so that scale and
scale lie together ; then let it boil quickly and skim it well.
When this is done, melt a good-sized piece of butter, add
a piece of sugar the size of a walnut, mix the blood with
it, and add it to the fish, which finish boiling. Take out
your fish, pass all through a tamis over the fish, and serve
up the onions and slices of lemon with it.

Carp boiled with small Onions.

Scale and clean your carp ; make up your pot of half
vinegar and half water, enough to well cover the fish, sea-
son with pepper, bay-leaves, cloves and salt ; peel some
small onions and boil them in part of the liquor, when done
serve up the fish and smother it with them.

Carp, to broil.

Clean and scale your carp, lay it in salt for one hour,
then well dry it with a cloth, chop some eschalots or onions

D

with parsley, very fine, and mix them with butter, with
which fill your fish and sew it up ; them melt some butter,
and baste the fish all over, put it on the gridiron and baste
it continually until done, and then serve it up with sauce
Roberte or any other sauce piquante.

Carp, to boil.

Clean and scale your fish, raise the back-bone and rub
in some salt, then let it lie in some strong salted spring wa-
ter for two hours, after which wash it out in clear spring
water, then put it into boiling water, with a good handful
of salt, and let it boil from fifteen to twenty minutes, with
the milt or roe. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon,
and serve up melted butter with fish-sauces for table.

All fresh-water fish boiled as above become firm, and
are the better for table.

Carp-Milt, to dress.

It must be salted a little and boiled in vinegar, then cut
it into small pieces and add pepper, alspice, butter, lemon-

juice, and finely cut lemon-peel ; mix all together with a
few bread-crumbs, and put it into scallop-shells and either
bake them, or do them before the fire in a Dutch oven.

Carp, stewed.

Scale and clean your carp, wash out the blood with a
little vinegar, which save ; cleanse the fish with salt water,
then split and cut it into pieces, which fry with the roe or
milt until pardone, place the whole when nicely brown into
the stew-pan, then add the vinegar and blood, two or three
large onions stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, alspice,
salt, lemon-peel, and a slice or two of lemon, close the lid,
and let it stew gradually, taking care to skim it well ; when
done take out some of the liquor and season with eschalot
and Chili vinegar, soy, anchovies and ketchup, thickened
with a little flour, add two or three glasses of port wine and
serve it up for table ; garnish with toast sippets.

Tench fried, and Caper Sauce.

To take off the slime you must scald the fish, then care-
fully clean it and take out the gills, wash it in spring water

D2

30

and score it, let it lay for two hours with salt well rubbed
in, then dry it with a clean cloth, flour it and fry it in but-
ter to a good brown, then serve it up with caper sauce.

Tench boiled, with Bacon Sauce piquant €.

Clean your fish, take out the gills (which are always mud-
dy), then run it blue with hot vinegar, boil it in salt water,
add a little vinegar, an onion or two, with cloves, two or
three bay-leaves, and some lemon-peel ; then fry some ba-
con cut into small pieces until it is of a fine brown, pass it
through a tamis, and then fry some flour in the fat with
sliced onions, until brown, add one pint of bouillon and
half a pint of vinegar, let it boil up with a few cloves, a lit-
tle lemon-peel and a small piece of sugar. This sauce you
serve over your fish for table, and garnish with rashers of
bacon.

Fish a la Matelotte.

To this you take all sorts of fish, carp, jack, tench, eels,
perch &c., which you clean and bone as well as you can,
cut them into small pieces and salt them for one hour, this

31

done dry them with a clean cloth, then place them in the
stew-pan with brown coulis or stock gravy, add a pint of
wine, season with an onion or two, some thyme, and other
pot-herbs, cloves, a slice or two of lemon, some pepper, a
little soy, anchovies and catsup : when done, serve it up
with hot crayfish or lobster pulled to pieces, and toasted
sippets.

N.B. — If jack be used it must be parboiled beforehand.

Jack with Polish Sauce.

Scale your fish and clean it well, split and cut it into
pieces, salt them well and let them remain in it for a good
half hour, then wipe them quite dry and clean of the slime
and place them in the stew-pan, add some chopped pars-
ley, parsley -roots, two or three large onions cut fine, some

•
alspice and a piece of butter ; then pour over boiling water

sufficient to cover the fish, and let it boil away until the
sauce becomes thick, should it however not thicken suffi-
ciently add a little more butter with flour, and when done
servo up tor table.

Jack baked with Anchovies.

Take a large jack, cut off the skin and scales so that none
remain, then take bacon, ham and lemon-peel cut in strips,
and run them through alternately (the same as larding), well
rub the inside with salt and put it into a baking dish ; then
chop very fine six anchovies, a few eschalots and some pars-
ley, put these into some oiled butter, baste the jack well
with it, then place it in the oven and baste it frequently, so
that it does not dry, until it is done. Then take the fish
out and make the sauce as follows ; take the dish in which
the fish was baked, stir in it some flour, with some good
bouillon and a glass or two of wine, cut up a few more an-
chovies, add the juice of a lemon, and pass the whole
through a tamis, then pour the sauce over the fish and serve
it up for table.

Jack stuffed or forced.

The fish is not cut open but cleaned through the gills,
wash it well with salt and water and wash off all the slime,
then make your stuffing of anchovies, eschalots, butter,
crumb of bread, three eggs, some alspice, lemon-juice, a
little lemon-peel and some sweet herbs, with a little pep-

33

per and salt ; mix it well together, stuff your fish as full as
you can ; then rub your baking dish with butter, or lay
rashers of bacon with sliced onions in the bottom, place
the fish in and baste frequently with finely chopped ancho-
vies and butter ; let it well bake, and when done remove
the fish, then take the baking dish and brown a little flour
in it, add some bouillon and estragan vinegar, and pass it
through a tamis, then pour this sauce over the fish and serve
it up.

Jack-Cotelettes.

Scale and skin your fish, chop up the flesh very fine with
some eschalots, take crumb of bread steeped in milk and
squeezed out, stir up some butter, six eggs, and beat the
whole together in a mortar with half a Ib. of fresh butter,
some finely cut lemon-peel and alspice, put it on a dish and
form your cotelettes, then baste with egg and bread-crumbs
and fry them to a nice brown.

Tench and carp are good this way, and jack-dumplings
can be made as above and served up with good bouillon.

34

Jack boiled, with Sauce a VHollandoise.

Boil the fish, then take four yolks of eggs, some butter,
flour, vinegar, green onions, parsley and alspice, stir this in
some bouillon over the fire, and serve it over the fish. In
boiling the fish you must use salt, whole pepper, a sliced
onion or two and a few bay-leaves.

Jack, salted, with Mustard Sauce.

Salt your fish for twenty-four hours and boil it twenty
minutes ; fry for sauce some flour until brown, add a quan-
tity of sliced onions, and when done pour some good bou-
illon to it, then add the mustard and let it boil, then serve
it over your fish.

Jack a la Braise.

Choose for this a large fish, clean and scale it well ; cut
bacon, lemon-peel and anchovies into filets, spit the jack
well with them on both sides, then let it lie for some hours

35

in spiced vinegar, onions cut small and a few bay-leaves,
with some salt ; turn it frequently, so that the fish be well
soaked ; then take your baking dish, in which lay thin sli-
ces of bacon, place the jack upon them, pour in the liquor
and cover it with thin layers of bacon, then let it bake in a
quick oven to a nice brown, whilst baking let it be fre-
quently basted ; when done place it in your dish and serve
up for sauce brown coulis or stock gravy, a few tablespoon-
fuls of the liquor flavoured with anchovies and lemon-juice.
If you wish for a richer dish, make the following cream ;
take veal, ham, a carrot, parsley -root, turnip, an onion or
two, spice, and a few spoonfuls of rather fat bouillon ; place
all together in a stew-pan on the fire, and when it becomes
brown at the bottom of the pan, add a few spoonfuls of
good gravy, and dissolve the brown at the bottom, mix a
handful of flour to it and add some cream, then boil it to a
rich gravy ; pass the whole through a tamis, and beat up
with it six yolks of eggs, then add some anchovy, butter,
lemon-peel and parsley cut fine, squeeze the juice of a le-
mon in it, and let it boil up ; when the jack is nearly done
pour this cream over it, and bake it to a nice brown, then
serve it up with the before-named sauce.

36

Jack fricandeau.

Clean and scale your fish, then carefully cut off the flesh,
spit it as in the foregoing, and proceed with it the same.

Ragout of Fish.

Take carp, jack, tench, perch and eels, clean and scale
them well, then cut them up into pieces for serving ; put in
your stew-pan a good-sized piece of butter, let it fry to a
pale brown, then fry some flour in it, and add a quart or
two of good bouillon, with a glass or two of red wine, a few
onions and cloves, when boiling put your ragout into it, let
it well boil and add some lemon-juice, then serve it up.

Jack with Horseradish.

Clean and cut your jack into pieces, boil it in salt and
water, but not too much water, then grate horseradish and
crumb of bread, put this, with some vinegar, butter and a
little sugar, to your fish, and let it boil up, then serve up
when done.

37

Fish- Soup disguised.

Take carp, tench, jack, perch and eels, clean them and
scale them, then cut them into pieces and fry them in lard
until pardone, then put them into the stew-pan well cover-
ed with water, which season with salt, whole pepper, cloves
and alspice, add turnips, carrots, onions, parsnips, parsley-
roots, celery and pot-herbs ; let it boil two or three hours,
till the fish is quite in pieces, then strain the whole through
a tamis, and season further with Chili vinegar, eschalot
wine, anchovy sauce, catsup, and a glass or two of port
wine, let it boil up and then serve up for soup. This, if
properly arranged, will be so disguised as not to taste of
fish, and when cold is so gelatinous that it may be cut the
same as mock turtle soup.

To serve it up as fish soup you must boil extra the dif-
ferent sorts of fish, as under the head of boiled fish, and
place them in the tureen in slices large enough for serving,
adding thereto vegetables boiled to a proper state for mix-
ing with the soup.

38

P.S. — I should have added to the first part of this
treatise, that the management of fish therein proposed is
equally well adapted to streams as to ponds, and that I
shall be happy to give my advice and assistance to any
gentleman who may require them.

G. B.

New Road, Shepherd's Bush,
October 16th, 1841.

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